United States of America: Primer on the U.S. Election System, IFES (2012)

This primer provides an overview of all aspects of the American electoral process, from how campaigns are conducted to the mechanics of the voting process. One key difference between the United States and other countries is the level to which American elections are governed in a decentralized manner. In the U.S., there is no central election body. No single federal government agency is in charge of reporting the results of federal elections, adjudicating federal election disputes or setting the rules for federal elections. Instead, American elections are run by states – within a basic framework of anti-discrimination laws set by federal law – and almost all states, in turn, delegate the actual conduct of elections to local election officials. It is in the almost 10,000 counties, cities or townships (local election jurisdictions) that elections are implemented in the U.S.

Primer on the US Election System.pdf — PDF document, 1737Kb